With a trembling hand, I take the leaf from him. “Yes,” I manage, my voice barely above a whisper. Then, louder, I say, “Yes, I’d love that.”
Aric is on his feet in an instant, and before I can process what’s happening, he’s lifting me clear off the ground and spinning me around. I gasp, clutching the leaf in one hand and holding his shoulder with the other, and suddenly, I’m laughing—really, truly laughing—as the garden blurs around us.
He sets me down carefully, steadying me as I find my footing and catch my breath. A few people around us are clapping, and one elderly woman says to her companion, “How sweet!”
I duck my head, trying to hide my flaming cheeks, and Aric chuckles.
“Worth it,” he murmurs, breath brushing my hair. “Completely worth it.”
I pull back just enough to look up at him, still holding the golden leaf.
“And I’m glad you said yes,” he whispers. “Otherwise, that would’ve been embarrassing.”
Mymouth pulls into a sideways smile. “When has any girl ever told youno?” I ask pointedly. But as soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. I didn’t mean to sound insecure, even if—
“I don’t care about any other girl,” he says, interrupting my train of thought, and something about the way he says it makes me want to believe him, even if it feels like a bad idea. “I just care about you.”
His expression softens, and for a moment, I think he might kiss me again. But instead, he just brings my hand up and presses a kiss to my knuckles—a gesture that somehow feels even more intimate.
“Come on,” he says, lifting our bag of leftover cookies off the picnic table and tugging me gently toward the garden gate, my small fingers wrapped in his larger ones. “We should probably head back before it gets dark. And didn’t you say you promised Lyra some cookies?”
Chapter 19
Aric
IT’S SUNDAY NIGHT, AND I find myself standing at the bottom of the staircase that leads up to the astronomy tower. Again. I avoided this place for years, but recently, it’s come back to haunt me.
I clench my fingers into fists and stare up at the constellation etched above the doorway.
Why does everyone like this tower so much?
I don’t get it. If I was supposed to be in the sky, I’d have wings.
Dragons have wings. Maybe that’s why he wanted to meet here.
And maybe I need to stop wasting time and start climbing those stairs. Or at least trying to.
I take a deep steadying breath.Come on. I can do this.Then I pass through the doorway, put my boot on the first step, and start to climb.
To distract myself from the ascension, I think of Poppy.Of that shimmery makeup she wore yesterday. Of the way that golden leaf fell into her hair.
Of the kiss.
It was soft, almost hesitant. But it was so much more meaningful than most of the kisses I’ve had. Something about it felt soreal. And when Poppy leaned into me and let her tongue barely brush my bottom lip...
A tingle of heat goes through my stomach, and my trousers grow a bit tight at the reminder.
No. Not the time or place. Nope.
I push that memory down, saving it for when I’m alone in my dorm room later. Right now, I need to get up this damn staircase.
Pausing to glance out one of the windows lining the tower’s exterior wall is a terrible, terrible mistake. The ground feels so far away, and imagining myself falling from this height makes my knees wobble like the vanilla pudding served at dinner tonight.
And yup, now I’m having to sink down to sit on a stair, just like I did last time I was here, when I tried—and failed—to meet Poppy in the tower for our first tutoring session.
I’ve really gotta start telling people no.
But I don’t want to be afraid. I just don’t understand why it’s so hard.
